Tazewell Times

Desmond Hatchett, 33, of Knoxville, Tennessee, can’t afford to pay his child support. He has “fathered” 30 children by 11 different women and he is now asking the state of Tennessee to pay his support payments for him.

Hatchett currently works a minimum wage job, and some of the mothers are only receiving a few dollars every month. Hatchett says the payments are too much of a strain on his meager wages.

After 30 kids, ranging in ages from toddlers to 14, it’s obvious that this guy isn’t going to stop impregnating women. Someone can make this type of mistake a couple of times, but it is clear Hatchett does this intentionally, and doesn’t care about the burden he places on society.

There are no laws against this type of behavior, but Hachett should be locked up for acting in this animalistic manner. Better yet—just like an animal, the state should send him to the veterinarian to be neutered.

The Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office is having a candlelight vigil in front of the Tazewell County Courthouse this evening at 7:45 pm, in remembrance of police officers who have died in the line of duty.

Everyone is invited to attend the gathering, and to participate in fellowship and a moment of silence in honor of those who have fallen.

Not only will it make you fat, eating sugar will also decrease your general thinking abilities, according to the results of a new study.

UCLA researchers conducted the study in which rats were fed a diet of fructose, and consequently had more difficulty finding their way through a maze as opposed to those on a regular diet. UCLA neurosurgery professor Fernando Gomez-Pinilla said, “Our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think.”

The findings are not really surprising, if you consider the logic. Just as the rest of the body will break down and suffer as the result of poor diet habits, the brain can’t function properly without healthy fuel.

So, for the sake of your IQ points, stay away from your local Dumbin’ Donuts and eat a few more salads instead. Our country can’t afford to have any more dummies–some of our leaders in the federal government already act as though they’re taking daily fructose injections.

Vermont has taken the historic step of becoming the first state in the country to ban the practice of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.” Fracking is the process of injecting chemicals into the ground to break up rock and release the underlying natural gas.

Vermont legislators say they have made the decision to protect the state’s water supplies from contamination. They say the science behind the fracking process leaves too much uncertainty about how the chemicals being induced into the ground may be harming water quality and safety.

In addition to the water contamination controversy, fracking has also been linked to minor earthquakes in several states. While gas company executives continue to repeat the standard line of how environmentally-friendly the procedure is, the evidence is making it apparent that it is not.

So, will other states rush to follow Vermont’s lead in banning fracking? No, not likely.

Despite the hazards to the environment, fracking has been a multi-billion dollar boon to energy companies and greatly increased the country’s natural gas production. When enough money is involved, and when powerful corporations are paying off lawmakers, the environment will continue to be trampled on.

Is your glass of water looking slightly discolored and tasting funny? Just ignore it. I’m sure you can believe Mr. Big Executive when he tells you fracking is completely safe.

Today is “Blue Light Day” in Tazewell County’s Police Week, honoring police officers who have died in the line of duty. From dusk to darkness this evening, a Tazewell County police cruiser will be parked in front of the Tazewell County Courthouse with its blue lights flashing in remembrance of the brave who have fallen during their service.

The Tazewell County school system has requested a new budget in local funding in the amount of $15.1 million, a $2.7 million increase over the current $12.4 million provided by the county. If the full amount is approved by the Board of Supervisors, it may lead to higher taxes in Tazewell County to make up the difference.

The shortfall in the school budget comes as a result of state and federal cutbacks, and also increased retirement figures. Representatives of the school system say $15.1 million is the minimum amount for sustaining its current levels of programs and employment.

If the school system receives less than the $15.1 million, it will be forced into cutting programs and jobs. School authorities already say they are operating at “bare bones” levels, and the new amount would not allow them to purchase anything extra, but only to keep what they have now.

The Board of Supervisors and Tazewell County Schools leadership are still hashing out the details, and are scheduled to have another special meeting about the matter this coming week. Some “wiggle room” may be found in the budget request, but a $2.7 million increase is enough pressure on the county to eventually lead to a decision to increase taxes.

It turns out the Mayans didn’t actually believe the world would come to an end on December 21, 2012. A new Mayan calendar that was recently discovered in Guatemala reveals a timeline going thousands of years past the popular Doomsday date.

The new findings came to light when archaeologists found a previously undetected room at a Mayan excavation site called Xultun. After further study, a Mayan scribe’s room from the 9th century was uncovered, one which contained several wall paintings, writings, and calendars.

The newly found calendars revealed calculations that project 4,000 years past the 21st Century. The new information debunks the previous theory that Mayans believed the world would come to end this year.

Unlike what we saw in the movie 2012, there is no worldwide cataclysm coming in December. No, the real end is coming in 6012, so mark your new Mayan calendars.

A Washington state couple is on trial for murder after their 17-year-old son died from a burst appendix. While their son was ill for several days, the couple chose to pray for him and anoint him with oil rather than take him to a hospital.

Gregory and Garnet Swezey called for church elders to help in a “healing by faith,” rather than calling for an ambulance when their son’s appendix ruptured. They believed the teenager was sick from the flu, rather than the reality of something much more serious. Now, they are charged with second-degree murder in the case.

Whenever I hear about such tragedies, I always think about the story of the man who was trapped on his roof during a flood. The moral of the story is that God helps those who help themselves, and to use common sense and actions in addition to prayer:

It had been raining for days and days, and a terrible flood had come over the land. The waters rose so high that one man was forced to climb onto the roof of his house.

As the waters rose higher and higher, a man in a rowboat appeared, and told him to get in. “No,” replied the man on the roof. “I have faith in the Lord; the Lord will save me.” So the man in the rowboat went away, while the man on the roof prayed for God to save him.

The waters rose higher and higher, and then a speedboat appeared. “Climb in!” shouted a man in the boat. “No,” replied the man on the roof. “I have faith in the Lord; the Lord will save me.” So the man in the speedboat went away, while the man on the roof prayed for God to save him.

The waters continued to rise. A helicopter appeared and over the loudspeaker, the pilot announced he would lower a rope to the man on the roof. “No,” replied the man on the roof. “I have faith in the Lord; the Lord will save me.” So the helicopter went away. The man on the roof prayed for God to save him.

The waters rose higher and higher, and eventually they rose so high that the man on the roof was swept away and drowned.

Upon arriving in heaven, the man questioned God about his death. “Father,” he said, “I had faith in you, I prayed to you to save me, and you did nothing. Why?” God replied, “I sent you two boats and a helicopter, what more did you expect?”

Keith Judd, an inmate at a federal corrections facility in Texas, picked up 41% of the vote in West Virginia’s Democratic primary runoff against Barack Obama. Judd is serving a 17½-year sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Texarkana for extortion in an incident involving the University of New Mexico.

West Virginians are sending a clear message that they would rather vote for ANYONE other than Obama. Now we know why Democratic Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia went on public record to say he didn’t know who he would vote for in the upcoming Presidential election.

While Judd’s name on the ballot was an obvious joke, the implications for Obama are not. In states like West Virginia, he is taking big losses in terms of blue collar supporters.